While I was a teenager learning to play guitar in the early '70s, I heard an acoustic guitar instrumental on one of Detroit's FM radio stations. The announcer said it was a track from John Renbourn's
Sir John Alot, and I was knocked out. It changed my perception of what acoustic guitar playing could be. I went right out and bought the album, which I have loved ever since. John's solo work, naturally, led me to Pentangle and Bert Jansch -- a lifetime of great listening there! I recently revisited an interview I did with Bert in 1992 for Guitar Player magazine, and put together a YouTube video of him explaining aspects of his right-hand guitar technique. I thought guitarists on this forum might enjoy hearing Bert talk about how he developed his style:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuJTdV9lEFg
Comments
I saw him a few times in the early 2000s and the Pentangle reunion.
He was an incredibly dynamic player- the string snapping may have had its origins in aggression and trying to be heard, but I think in the later days it just filtered through into whatever else he was playing a a natural expression of his emotions at any given point.